A peek at the cheeks: Chanel's Ultra Rose Powder Blush

While I patiently wait here for Tom Ford's Narcissist to drop in Australia, Chanel's Powder Blush in Ultra Rose will have to suffice.  As Ralphie exclaimed in A Christmas Story, "Only one thing in the world could've dragged me away from the soft glow of electric sex gleaming in the window."  Ultra Rose does just that for me.

Chanel's Joues Contraste blush formula is baby fine and baby soft; it's so soft it kicks up a bit of dust whence the brush hits the blush. Ultra Rose is a hot magenta pink with undertones of blue. A subtle and unexpected treat was the smell of fresh rose petals; I didn't notice the scent until I came home to swatch and play. Don't worry, if the smell of rose is not your thing, the scent disappears almost immediately after application.

Ultra Rose

Colour payoff and intensity varies per user and weight of hand.  Want a wash of pink? Apply two or three layers on your cheeks like I did. Looking to amp it up? Double the dose -- doctor's orders! As for performance, Ultra Rose lasted all day and didn't require any touch-ups.

If you love NARS' Gaeity, then Ultra Rose will be up your alley too.

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Chanel's Ultra Rose Powder Blush:

• $71.00 AUS / $43.00 USD

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 8 out of 10 bags - a great blush to take from daytime to nighttime.

Likelihood to purchase:

• The Holiday 2012 collection should be hitting counters in the next few weeks.

Butter London Holiday 2012

Butter London

I don't know about you, but I'm really looking forward to Fairy Cake (think Frilly Knickers or Tart with a Heart), but with a bit more grey.  Scallywag is the glittery child of Slapper and Blagger.

Can't wait!

Lush Emotional Brilliance Liquid Lipsticks in Perspective and Strong

Emotional Brilliance

When I saw that Lush was releasing a makeup line, I knew I had to try it. I love many of their products already (my favourites are Ultrabalm, Sandstone soap, Angels on Bare Skin, and the Bubble Bars) so I had high hopes for their makeup range.

Swatches

The Lush Emotional Brilliance line is a new spin (pun intended!) on choosing colour cosmetics, where customers are asked to spin a colour wheel and without thinking, immediately choose the 3 shades that stand out most to them. I gave the colour wheel a spin at the Lush Perth (Plaza Arcade) and the three colours that stood out to me were a bright orange, light green, and light blue. Those products turned out to be the Strong Liquid Lipstick, Healthy Liquid Eyeliner  and Calm Liquid Eyeliner.

When I spun the wheel I noticed that there were a few empty slots, I heard that there was a problem with the original shipment to Australia so my choices may have been different if the wheel had been full (I originally spun the wheel around the end of July when they first launched the Emotional Brilliance line, however my most recent visit to the Lush store was about a week ago and they were fully stocked).

I decided to only pick up Strong, because I wasn't sure how much mileage I would get out of light blue and green eyeliners. I never wear red lipstick as I still have yet to find the perfect red (though I find I can rock a shocking '80s pink lipstick) so I was intimidated by the colour of Strong at first. As the name indicates, it is not for the faint of heart and is a vibrant, reddish orange shade which Lush describes as "blood orange". It does start out having quite a glossy shine to it (but no glitter/shimmer), which gradually fades throughout the course of the day. Strong is very long wearing and as it is a highly pigmented bold shade, it does stain the lips. After eating lunch the shine had disappeared, but the bright red-orange pigment was still there.

Comparison

I found Strong to be comfortable to wear which is no surprise to me since the base of the Liquid Lipsticks is Ultrabalm, my nighttime lip moisturiser. The consistency is similar to a creamy opaque lipgloss and with a loud colour like this, it's not really ideal for on-the-go touchups without a mirror. The liquid lipsticks are housed in small glass vials with a short, doe-foot applicator. Because of the opaqueness of Strong and its liquid-like consistency, sometimes I like to dot a little bit on my lips and blend it out with a clean finger for a less bold look.

Since I was pleased with Strong, I went back and picked up Perspective for a more wearable, everyday lip colour. Lush describes Perspective as "a natural, dusky rose" and on my skintone, I see it as a mauve-y pink with a subtle shimmer. Perspective is not as bold or strongly pigmented as Strong and it didn't stain my lips -- I also found it comfortable to wear.

One of the best things about the Lush Emotional Brilliance line is the price, here in Australia all the Liquid Lipsticks, Eyeliners, and Cream Eyeshadows retail for $24.95AUD and the US retail price is $22.95USD. It's nice not being grossly overcharged for identical products here in Australia! You can give the colour wheel a spin yourself on Lush's website or head into a Lush store. I recommend going into a store and trying the products out yourself to see how it looks on your skintone as well as to see if you like the texture and consistency.

The Lush store I went to had plenty of disposable applicators and all the doe-foot applicators had been removed from the testers so it's a hygienic way to test the lipsticks on your lips. There's also no shortage of their makeup remover, 9 to 5 (which I have purchased before and I liked it but didn't love it) so you can try out as many colours as you like.

A peek at the cheeks: MAC & Marilyn Monroe Legendary Blush

If Barney Stinson roamed the earth during the 50's, he'd say Norma Jeane or Marilyn was "Legen-wait for it - dary.  Legendary!  Blonde or brunette, it don't matter."  Marilyn Monroe was, is and will always be legendary for her modelling, singing and movie career in Hollywood -- a true triple threat. Men loved/wanted Marilyn and women wanted to hate her or be just like her.

Cosmetics and perhaps cosmetic surgery helped with Norma Jeane's transformation in order to become Marilyn Monroe.  It's fitting for a company such as MAC to encapsulate Marilyn's essence -- mysterious, humble, shy, beautiful and glamorous into a 28 piece collection for Autumn 2012.

Swatch

A subtle coral is nestled within a sleek and shiny black compact.  Shimmer with a bit of orange spice makes my cheeks flush in the best way possible.  My skirt flutters above the steel grate and I don't care, because my cheeks are alight with pure pleasure from MAC's Legendary.  Three passes with MAC's 168 brush is (almost) all I need to brighten my day ;)

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for MAC | Marilyn Monroe's satin blush in Legendary:

• $45.00 AUS / $22.00 USD

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 10 out of 10 bags — Blushbaby no longer reigns supreme!

Likelihood to purchase again:

• I'll be picking up a back up, because I can see myself hitting the pan quickly. You'll have to visit your local MAC counter or store as Legendary is sold out online.

Related articles

• See the Entire MAC Marilyn Monroe Collection in Detail